"They showed what the view from the actual cockpit was and the crowd was ecstatic," said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs, one of the officers who was working during the game.

The roar of the jets - and fans' appreciation for the flyover and the view - "reached maximum decibel levels," Burroughs said. "They were really excited."

The flyover, which happened shortly after the national anthem, included one F-15E and two F-16s, and fans began to cheer as the jets approached.

Col. Ken Wilsbach, one of the Eglin Air Force Base pilots scheduled to take part in the flyover, said he knew of only one other time when the Sniper system was demonstrated at a football game. That was during the Air Force-Army game this year using a B-52.

Wilsbach said his team was excited to demonstrate some of what the system can do.

"It's just an opportunity for us to show some of America, those who are watching the game, at least, a little bit about what the Air Force is doing to support the global war on terror," Wilsbach said. "And it gives us a lot of pride to show off to the American taxpayer what they're paying for."

Wilsbach was supposed to be among those pilots flying over the stadium Saturday. But problems with one aircraft grounded him.

Instead, he sat in the stadium's press box with a laptop, communicating with the other fighter pilots via radio.

The Sniper is being used in Iraq and Afghanistan and, because it can accurately locate other objects at long distances, enhances pilot safety.

Wilsbach said the Sniper pod works using either a television lens or an infrared lens, so it can see during the day or at night. It then broadcasts the image to a laptop so that a person on the ground can communicate with the pilot to fine-tune where the Sniper is looking and pinpoint a very specific target.

"It's a really useful tool and it does a great job of supporting the troops on the ground," he said.

Wilsbach and the other pilots had another good reason for enjoying the flyover.

Wilsbach is a UF Gator alum from 1985. And, he said, all the pilots who were in the air happen to be Gator fans.

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